Encounter at the blacksmith workshop

23 posts in this topic

As I am sure you all know, this scene is taken from the first movie in the saga, "The Curse of the Black Pearl". Jack is on the run in Port Royale and is hoping to find refuge in the blacksmith workshop... Unfortunately for him Will Turner shows up a few minutes later and it all ends up in an epic duel.

Instead of shooting this MOC from different angles "the usual way" I chose to try something different, more in the spirit of the movie... I hope you like it!

(I also hope I got the rules right, I did not see anything against picture editing...)

The design of this amazing bellows is from my friend Pixel Fox

I can only post 5 pics here, but you may check some additional frames on my Flickr

Thanks for watching, and good luck to all in the contest!

Oh, I almost forgot, I do not claim to win anything but since the rules say we have to say it, I would have "The Mill" as prize.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Wow, I did not expect to see such a good first entry (seems everyone was afraid to post first). I just hope that this high standard you've set won't discourage others from posting.

The idea is very nice and also the realization along with the picture editing! The scene is easily recognizable for everyone that's seen the movie (even if only once). It has everything that was in the scene - the mechanism, the anvil and furnace, the wooden construction for the second floor fight ... also there's weapons hanging from everywhere. This was the first thing I wanted to suggest to improve the diorama, but at a better look at all the pictures I realized it's all there, just not seen in the first picture! So I'd only mention the white horse here, but apparently the gray one just came out and it also has inappropriate textures for a donkey.

Frankly, the only thing I'm not too fond of is the ground. Though the execution is nice and I believe most will probably not agree with me, I must mention it. I really prefer the smooth techniques of building and these gaps that are in your build are just too deep for my taste. But then again by planking it all down It'd be hard to make the "round" hole for the donkey.

Anyway that is just my opinion and we all know that different people have different tastes and see some thing differently. All in all it's a very strong entry and I'd only add a few barrels and boxes here and there. Especially in the bottom left corner (first picture) which looks a bit empty.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Wohoo, thanks for the great feedback guys! And thanks for blogging me, I did not see that one coming, to be honest I was a bit intimidated to post here, pirates fans are amongst the most hardcore builders and I expect some pretty awesome builds for this comp'!

I have seen some very valid comments up there, I tend to agree with all of them - this MOC could have used a little extra work but I did not have the time for it, last week-end was my personal deadline for submission...

Indeed, too bad there are no Lego donkeys... I did consider using this one though...

Share on other sites

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

This is amazing! Very nice work, agree with everything said above. Extreme focus on detail giving Will a rapier against Jack's cutlass. I love the walls, I think its very clever of you to make it in ridges, for playability and for style. I happen to like the wall very much, because from a certain angle, it looks like a fragmented tile floor (I think your pic really brings this out). Finally, the grandslam is the pictorial you included in full blown comic style; excellent job depicting the opening duel of the series! Wish it was a set you could buy!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

You did a great job creating this scene. All the details are there and the comic just makes an already great MOC that much better!

I also really like the way that you built the walls with multiple colors and the donkey's gear turning contraption ( I have no idea what it's called). I also like that Will has a raptor while Jack has a cutlass. To sum it up, you seem to have captured every detail of this scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.

The only thing I would change is the floor. It's a clever design to be sure but I dislike the holes in it.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Thanks again for the feedbacks - I must say I really like the little debate around the floor, I guess this is the kind of thing that you would either like or completely dislike and no real mixed feelings. I fell in love with the technique when I saw this MOC by Legohaulic it's not the first time I try to use it myself.. but I suppose I have not yet managed to match Tyler's skills!

Anyway, I just wanted to shed some light on why I did it like this - 2 reasons:

* I needed an elevated floor in order to make the horse/donkey craddle lower than the rest of the scene

* The horse/donkey part being round I needed a floor technique that could be adapted to the shape

I'm not saying this technique is the only one that could fulfill these 2 requirements, but it does have a lot of advantages. It is completely flexible, low on pieces consumption and - to me - it is the best rendition of a mosaic floor with no real recurring patern.

Now, I agree that this floor is best viewed with a lower angle and I'm not too fond of the overall shot myself - but you got to have one!

My mistake was maybe to use a tan baseplate - I used it to have the donkey part in a light color but I did not realize it would make the holes in the floor more noticeable, that's what I call a lesson learned for next time. It's anyway too late for me to change anything because my 3 years old son played a little with the dio and... let's just say that I don't think TLC would have approved my design because it failed miserably the play test, it only took him 2 minutes to destroy the whole thing... ashes to ashes...

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Great entry, Yatkuu! The workshop is spot-on, it's the same look and feeling like in the film. The variety of brick colours certainly adds up to that, not many buildings get away with that old grey affected by the sun. The floor is also nicely done, a technique that surely fits with this building. You did also a good job with the wooden structure and the donkey part. At first I thought there weren't enough details, looking at the overall photo. I searched for blacksmith material and of course weapons. But looking at the further pictures, I've seen you managed to include plenty of them. Weapons are hanging around, that blowing thing, .... The place looks a bit too clean from above, perhaps a spider web or two and a bit more rubbish laying around would've been nice.

Now the way of presenting this wonderful creation is really top-notch. The comic book style just works perfectly with this theme. The pictures and the additional effects make it look excellent. Nice job all round!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I like it, especially the floor! Did you spend much time selecting fitting bricks?

You've had a great idea to make the walls' edges have such shapes, it suggests whole building exists. The chimney sticking over all looks very good. I also like the colour of the walls - the combination of bricks are in some places not so perfect (I'd use some plates instead of thick bricks), but let it be.

Next fine feature of your MOC is the wheel (I haven't ever imagined it's possible to make such a good-looking octagonal wheel), and the space below - I mean the place where the horse is :P. Is this a treadmill?

What I like in your entry are details, which are hard to spot when looking the first time - when I look at your MOC, I discover more and more of them!

What is worth improving is the wooden staging, you could make it all SNOT, covering with various brown plates - just like you did around the wheel.

I'm not sure if showing MOC in such way, as a comic, is needed here. I miss some more photos of the model, instead of such a quantity of various minifigs' configurations and dialogues. But never mind.